Signaling attachment for meters



June 17, 1930. E. M. KRUEGER 1,765,337

SIGNALINWAQJENT FOR "ETERS Filed Dec. 1, 1922 INVENTOR.

- l M M;

ATTORNEY! Patented June 17, 1930 tll llfl STA'ELEfi AENT reins EMIL M. KETTEGER, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO BADGER METER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 02 MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF Wisconsin Application filed December 1, 1922. Serial No. 604,444.

This invention relates to improvements in signaling attachments for meters.

The device hereinafter to be disclosed is of such a character that it will find a particular field of usefulness in association with meters upon water softeners and the like. A. water softening machine is provided with a chemical which will remain active for the softening of a determinable amount of water. Thereafter the chemical becomes ineffective. It is desirable to provide in connection with such an apparatus an alarm or signal which will notify the operator at the completion of flow of that amount of liquid which can be handled by thewater softener without renewal of the chemical.

It will be understood that the foregoing statement describing one field of usefulness for this invention is purely illustrative. It is 30 my object to provide a signaling attachment which may be associated with any metering mechanism of whatever sort and may be utilized to give an audible or visible alarm when saidrmetering mechanism registers a predetermined amount.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a signaling attachment for meters which will be adaptable for use under widely 4 varying circumstances and will be readily adjustable to become operative to close an electric circuit when a predetermined value is recorded by the meter, whether that value be large or small.

Further objects of this invention are to 5 provide a mechanism which will not be subj set to injury in the event that the signal is neglected and the device allowed to operate for a greater length of time than the predetermined period; to provide a signaling at- 49 tachment which can instantly be reset for a renewed operation at an time without necessitating complicated adjustment and without impairing in any way the operation of the device; to provide a device in which the resetting mechanism is of such a nature as to be flexibly driven not only to permit of the resetting of the moving contact, but also to prevent injury from being done if the device is incorrectly assembled so that a positive stop is opposed to said contact at Some point in its circuit; and to provide simple and effective mechanism for changing the rate of rotation of the travelling contact relative to the driving pinion of the device, whereby accurate adjustments and settings of the signaling mechanism are rendered possible without the use of complicated gearlng connections.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the face of a signaling device embodying this invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the lower face of the device.

Fig. 5 is a detailed View in vertical section illustrating the frictional connectionbetween the knurled adjusting handle and the shaft upon which it is mounted.

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

The framework upon which this device is assembled may conveniently comprise an upper plate 10 and a lower plate 11, said plates being substantially disk-like in shape and being spaced by posts 12 disposed at intervals about their periphery. The construction of the framework of the device is much like the organization of the frame upon which the movement of a watch or clock is assembled.

Bearings in plates 10 and 11 are provided substantially in the center of the frame for the driven shaft 18 which is provided beneath the lower plate 11 with a gear 14 fast thereon. The driven shaft 18 carries no gears between upper and lower plates 10 and 11, but extends through the upper plate for some distance as is shown in Fig. 5. If desired, the extremity 18 of the driven shaft may be squared in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1.

The travelling contact finger 15 is mounted upon the driven shaft and arranged to receive motion frictionally therefrom through the knurled adjusting knob 16 which will now be described.

The knurled disk 16 is provided with a threaded flange 17 screwed into a cup-like rece tacle 18 rotatably disposed upon the shaf 13 which passes axially therethrough. Vithin the receptacle is provided a collar 19 which is made fast to the shaft. In the present embodiment of this invention, the sleeve 20 is integral with said collar and is keyed to the shaft 13 by a pin 21. Upon the collar 19 rests the inner end of the travelling contact 15, the major portion of which projects outwardly through an opening 22 in the side of receptacle 18. A spring 23 is confined between the knurled cap 16 and the travelling contact 15, thereby tending to maintain said contact fiat upon the upper face of the collar 19. A resilient mounting is thereby provided for the contact 15 making said contact upwardly yieldable in its entirety. The contact finger itself is also preferably made resilient in order to ride easily over the fixed contact and stop hereinafter to be described.

The spring 23 has the further important function of pressing the receptacle 18 into contact with the lower face of driven disk 19 through the interposed friction washer 24 whereby the required frictional driving pressure is developed. The arrangement is such that the spring 23 seated against the contact finger 15 upon the upper face of collar 19 urges upwardly disk 16 and receptacle 18,

thereby creating suflicient pressure between the bottom of receptacle-18 and the lower face of collar 19 to drive the'receptacle from the collar positively under all ordinary circumstances. If, however, it is desired to adjust the travelling contact finger 15 or if the finger encounters some obstacle in its path, the frictional connection between the collar 19 and hub 28. When the device herein disclosed is in operative association with a meter, the pinion 26 (best shown in Figs. 3 and 4) will mesh with a suitable driving gear in the meter and will be driven thereby at a rate of speed proportioned in a predetermined manner to the flow through the meter (or the rate of operation of the meter if the meter be used for some purpose other than to measure the rate of flow of a fluid or the like). If the signaling device herewith disclosed is not used in connection with a meter, but is associated, for example, with a rotating shaft,it being. desired to sound an alarm after a predetermined number of rotations of said shaft, the shaft may be coupled with said rotating shaft or arranged to be driven thereby. It is not material to this invention in what manner the shaft 25 is driven from the dcvice with which it is desirable to associate the signaling mechanism herein di lo e It will be remembered that the driven shaft 13 is centrally disposed. Motion is transmitted thereto from driving shaft 25 by means of a train of driving gears mounted on shafts which are disposed in a circle around the driven shaft so that power transmitting connections to the driven shaft may be actuated interchangeably from an shaft in the driving train of gearing. In t 's way, many different relative speeds are obtainable.

The driving shaft 25 is the first of a series of similar shafts 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35, each of which is located at an equal radius about the central driven shaft 13. Each of said shafts drives the next succeeding shaft in the order named by means of intermeshing pinions disposed between the upper and lower frame disks l0 and 11. The drive shaft 25 carries a small pinion 36 which meshes with a gear 37 upon shaft 30. A small pinion 38 5 on shaft drives a gear 39 on sha t 31. In like manner, the motion of shaft 31 is transmitted through a small pinion 40 thereon to a gear 41 on shaft 32, thence through a pinion 42 on said last mentioned shaft to a gear 13 0 on shaft 33, then through a pinion 44 on shaft 33 to a gear 45 on shaft 34; thence through a pinion on shaft 34 to gear 46 on shaft 35.

The arrangement may conveniently be u made such that ten revolutions of any given shaft in the train of gears may be required to produce one revolution in the next con secutive shaft of the train. Thus ten revolutions of shaft 25 will be required to produce one revolution of shaft 30; ten revolutions of shaft 30 will be required to produce one revolution of shaft 31, etc. It will be obvious that each successive shaft will rotate in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the shaft next preceding it in the series. Assuming shaft 25 to be rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4, the remainin shafts in the train will be rotated respect1vely in the directions indicated by the arrows appearing adjacent each.

The gear 14 upon driven shaft 13 is preferably of such a size that its peripher will be closely adjacent to each of the sha ts 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35 of the driving train. It will also be noted that the shafts of the driving train are equi-distant from the periphery of gear 14 upon the driven shaft 13. Thus, it is possible to connect any of said shafts operatively with the driven gear 14 by using a pinion 50 interchangeably mountable upon said shafts. I

The pinion 50 may be provided with a cylindrical hub portion 51 having a set screw 52 operatively threaded therein and engageable with the shafts of the driving train, said 1 shafts being preferably flattened upon one side in the manner clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. In the drawings, the small pinion 50 is illustrated as being mounted upon shaft 31, the second shaft of the train.

that the above mentioned gear ratio is carried out, the rate of rotation of the driving shaft vill be twice divided by ten in the driving train that one hundr d turns of the driving shaft 25 will be necessary to pro duce one turn of shaft 31. The ratio of the interchangeably mountable pinion 50 to the driven gear 15 as shown in the drawings is 1:5, andifsuch be the case, it will obviously require five hundred turns of shaft to produce a single turn of the driven haft 13. If, however, the small pinion 50 were mounted upon shaft only fifty turns would be re quired, and, similarly, if the small pinion were mounted upon shaft five thousand turns would be necessary in the driving shaft 25 to produce a single rotation of the driven shaft 18. It is immaterial what proportionate speeds are used as long as the proportion is known and the adjustments made accordingly.

It is contemplated that the setting of pinion shall be made by the manufacturer or his representative and in order to make ta e poring with the device diflicult, the gear 1dand the interchangeable pinion 50 are preferably located upon the bottom side of the device in which position they will normally be concealed. It would, however, obviously be within the scope of this invention to make this adjustment on the upper face or the easing, since, referring to vFig. 1, it will be no ticed that the several shafts upon which the gear 50 is interchangeably mountable all project outwardly through the upper disk 10 of the frame as does also the driven shaft 13. If, therefore, 1t is desirable in any given stallation to make adjusting mechanism cessible readily, the gear 1% can conveniently be mounted above disk 10 htween said disk and receptacle 18 in the position now occupied by the w. sher5 l. The pinion 56 can then be mounted upon the other ends of shafts 30 to 23 1, inclusive, and will mesh with gear 14 in precisely the same manner in which it is shown to mesh with said gear in Fig. 4.

Having described the mechanism by which the movable contact finger is driven at any one of a number of predetermined rates of speed within the control of theoperator, I will now describe the means by which the c evice can be set to be operable to close an electric circuitafter a determinable fraction of a revolution of the driven shaft.

screw 59, the arrangement being such that the saddle can be reversed in position when desired. The upper surface 60 of the member 56 preferably comprises a cam, the end 61 of said member being higher than the normal position of the extremity of contact finger 15 and constituting a stop. Thus, with the parts in the'position shown in Fig. 1, the end 61 of the cam faced saddle 56 comprises a positive stop to prevent any further countor-clockwise rotation of the contact finger 15. Assuming, however, that the contact finger 15 is rotating clockwise about the axis of shaft 13, it will be obvious that said contact finger can make more than one complete revolution, since inclined surface 60 of the saddle member 56 will lift the extremity of the resilient finger 15 to a sufficient height to permit it to clear the stop portion 61 of said member.

The fixed contact may conveniently comprise an L-shaped member 62, the upright leg of which is provided with a rounded extremity 63. The horizontal leg 64 of the fixed contact 62 is insulated from plate 11 by an insulating gasket 65. A screw 66 passing through the plate 11 and insulated therefrom by gasket 67 serves to secure the horizontal leg 64: in place. The binding post 68 similarly insulated by gasket 67 is also relied upon to position the fixed contact member 62 rigidly in place and extends through plate 11, insulated therefrom as above stated. A wire leading to the binding post 68 will transmit current to the fixed contact member 62 and will nevertheless be insulated by the gasket and 67 from the remainder of the mechanism.

A second binding post 69 in direct contact with plate 11 serves to permit a ground wire to be directly connected through the gearing and housing above described with the moving contact finger 15, whereby an electrical circuit can be closed between said binding posts each time the moving contact finger 15 comes into contact with the fixed member 62. The closing of this circuit may be utilized to operate electrically any desired audible or visible signaling mechanism.

To set the device, the saddle member or stop 56 is first positioned the desired angular distance from the fixed contact 62, taking into account the direction of rotation of shaft 13 and finger 15. It will be so positioned that its higher extremity 61 will be disposed at its forward end in the direction of rotation of the moving contact finger 15. The particular direction in which said finger will r0- tate will, of course, depend upon the particular shaft of the driving train from which motion is transmitted to gear 14-. Inasmuch as successive shafts rotate in opposite directions, it will be obvious that the direction of rotation of the contact member 15 will be entirely dependent upon the particular mounting of pinion 50.

In the drawings, it has been assumed that the driving shaft 25 would be rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4. Shaft 31 of the driving train would, in that case, rotate in the same direction and shaft 13 would be driven in a reverse direction. As viewed in Fig. 1, shaft 13 would rotate in a clockwise direction. The knurled handle 16 and contact member are frictionally driven from said shaft in the same direction. Thus, the distance between the adjustable stop 61 and the fixed contact 62 will determine for any given setting of pinion 50 the period for which the meter must operate before the circuit between binding posts 68 and 69 will be completed. For example, if it is assumed that the device is associated with a water meter and that the arrangement is such that the driving shaft makes one complete rotation for each gallon of water that flows through the meter, it will be clear that with the pinion upon shaft 31 of the driving train, and the gears meshed in the above stated ratios, the passage of five hundred gallons of water will cause the driven shaft 13 and the moving contact 15 to make one complete revolution.

If this amount of water exactly represents the desired quantity, the saddle 56 may be wholly removed or may be left in any position upon the flange 55. The fixed contact 62 will be used as a starting point each time the device is reset, and upon each complete rotation of the movin contact finger 15, an electrical circuit will m completed between binding posts 68 and 69.

The saddle 56 is of no value in any case where the desired period of operation of the meter can be accurately measured by some 'ven setting of the adjustable pinion 50. It Elms been shown with reference to the above illustration that the gear ratios might be such that with pinion 50 upon shaft 31 of the driving gear train, the signaling electric circuit would be closed once in eachrevolution of the driven shaft 13 to measure the passage of five hundred gallons of water. Similarly, five thousand gallons might be measured by putting the driving pinion upon shaft 34. In other words, wlth the gear ratios as assumed in the above discussion, the passage of five hundred gallons of water or any decimal multiple thereof within the capacity of the signaling device could be measured accurately without using the saddle 56. It is the function of the saddle to provide a stop constituting a starting point for. the movement of the travelling finger 15 when it is desired to operate a signal after a period of meter operation which cannot be accurately represented by positioning moving pinion 50 upon any of the shafts available for it.

The method of procedure in such a case will be as follows: The pinion 50 will be set upon a shaft such that a complete rotation of driven shaft 13 would represent a period of meter operation greater than that which it is desired to measure. The saddle 56 is then positioned upon flange 55 in such a manner that the angular distance between its stop portion 61 and the fixed contact member 62 will bear the same proportion to the entine 360 through which shaft 13 is revoluble as the desired period of meter operation bears to the period for which the meter will be operated if the contact finger 15 makes a complete revolution. Reverting to the illustration above given wherein it was assumed that a single rotation of driving shaft 25 represents the flow of one gallon of water through a Water meter, and wherein it was assumed that with the pinion 50 upon shaft 13 of the driving train and the gears meshed in the above stated ratios, a complete rotation of shaft 13 would mark the passage of five hun dred gallons of Water; let it be further assumed that it is desired to measure not five hundred gallons, but merely one hundred seventy-five. In that event, the saddle 56 would be positioned as shown in Fi 1 and 2, and to set the device initially the urled handle 16 would be turned counterclockwise in a direction opposite to the direction of ro tation of shaft 13. The frictional mounting of receptacle 18 and knurled handle 16 upon shaft 13 ermits of this reverse rotation and enables t e contact finger 15 to be brought against the stop portion 61 of saddle 56. As shown, the stop is at approximately 125 from the fixed contact 62 and the ratio of 125 to the full 360 through which the contact finger is rotatable is approximately the same as the ratio between the desired 175 gallons to the entire five hundred gallons which would pass if the contact finger made a complete rotation. Obviously, when the meter is operative and the driving car 26 is in rotation, the motion thereof Wlll be transmitted through the drivin train to driven gear 14 upon shaft 13 and t e movement of said shaft will be frictionally transmitted to the moving contact 15. When the desired flow has been recorded by the meter the moving contact finger will establish with the fixed contact finger 62 an electrical connection between binding osts 68 and 69 and the signal will thereby e operated. It will be understood that to set the device accurately,'it is always necessary to measure the angular distance from stop 61 to the fixed contact 62 in the direction of rotation of driven shaft 13. Con, sequentl if the driving pinion 50 were upon one of s afts 30, 32 or 34, it would be necessary to dispose the saddle 56 at the left hand side of Fig. 1 instead of at the right, as shown.

It is to be noted that the circuit between binding posts 68 and 69 will be closed only for a comparatively short period. The fixed contact 62 does not take the form of a posi- $80 tive stop, but, as previously explained, comprises a cam-shaped member over which the movable finger 15 can freely pass in either direction, The circuit between the binding posts will be closed only for such time as the contact finger rests upon the roimded surface 63 of the fixed contact 62. Thus, if the signaling device is not attended to and is not reset by rotating the finger counterclockwise back to the position represented by stop 61, the rotative movement of the finger will continue and eventually it will be lifted over stop 61 by the cam-like surface 60 of saddle. Should the saddle be reversed through neglect so that during the normal rotation of contact finger 15, it should abut against stop 61, there would nevertheless be no damage to the mechanism since the frictional drive between the shaft 13 and contact finger 15 is such as to permit shaft 13 to rotate indefinitely even though the contact finger is positively locked against movement.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the 7 objects specified for this invention are satisfied by the device herein disclosed, and it is desired to emphasize the fact that it is entirely immaterial to this invention whether this device be used in association with a water, gas or other meter, or whether it be associated with a tachometer or merely with the rotating shaft of some piece of machinery in which it is desired to signal the completion of a predetermined number of rotations.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination with a driven shaft, of a stationary contact, a rotatable contact element having a resiliently supported contact portion adapted in one position to touch said stationary contact, means for frictionally driving said rotatable contact from said driven shaft, and a stop circumferentially adjustable and supported in the path of said rotatable contact and adapted to limit the movement thereof in one direction of rotation, said stop bein adapted to permit the ll'itSSflge of said contactin another direction of rotation. y

A signaling device including a rotatable contact member having its active contact portions resiliently supported, a fixed contact member disposed in the path of said rotatable contact member and provided with a cam surface adapted "to permit the passage thereof, actuating means comprising in place thereof frictional driving mechanism connecting said actuating means with said movable contact member, and a stop circumferentially adjustable in the path of said movable contact member and adapted to oppose the movement thereof in one direction.

3. Signaling mechanism including a plate, a driven shaft projecting therethrough, an annular flange concentric with said driven shaft, a contact element supported from said driven shaft and frictionally driven therefrom, a stationary contact element insulated from said plate and disposed in the path of said first mentioned contact element and provided with a rounded surface adapted to permit the passage thereof, and a stop adjustable about said flange and arranged to permit the pass e of said first mentioned contact element when said element is moving in the direction of rotation of said shaft and to oppose the passage of said contact element when said element is moving in the opposite direction.

l. In a device of the character described, the combination with a driven shaft, of a train of gearing having axis shafts disposed equi-distantly from said driven shaft, alterirate axle shafts being simultaneously rotatable in opposite directions, a gear upon said driven shaft, a pinion interchangeably mountable upon said axle shafts and ar ranged when so mounted to mesh with said gear, whereby said gear may be driven at a plurality of speeds and in reverse directions, a movable contact arranged to be frictionally actuated from said driven shaft, a fixed contact disposed in the path of said movable contact and rounded to permit the passage thereof, and a cam surfaced stop adjustable circumferentially in the path of said movable contact and arranged to permit the passage of said contact in one direction While opposing it in the other, said stop being reversible to accommodate the change in direction of rotation of said driven shaft and movable contact.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination with a pair of spaced plates, of a driven shaft journaled in said plates, a plurality of driving shafts journaled in said plates and interconnected by reducing gearing, said driving shafts being disposed equidistant from said driven shaft, a gear upon said driven shaft, a pinion interchangeably mounted upon said driving shafts and arranged to actuate said gear and said driven shaft, at a plurality of relative speeds and in reverse directions, an annular flange upon one of said plates concentric with said driven shaft, a frictionally driven head supported from said driven shaft and provided with an outwardly resiliently mounted contact member, a fixed contact member insulated from said plates and disposed in the path of said resiliently mounted contact member and adapted to permit the passage thereof after contact has been established, and a revers ible and adjustable stop adapted to be secured to said flange and provided with a camsurface whereby said stop opposes the movement of said resilient contact member in one direction while permitting such movement in an opposite direction.

6. In a device of the character described,

the combination wit; a driven shaft, of a 6 mews? 

